Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method

ABSTRACT

A substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate holding unit configured to hold a substrate; a first processing liquid nozzle configured to supply a first processing liquid to a peripheral portion of the substrate; a second processing liquid nozzle configured to supply a second processing liquid, the temperature of which is lower than that of the first processing liquid, to the peripheral portion of the substrate; a first gas supply port configured to supply a first gas at a first temperature to a first gas supplied place on the peripheral portion of the substrate; and a second gas supply port configured to supply a second gas at a second temperature lower than the first temperature to a place closer to the center in the radial direction as compared to the first gas supplied place with respect to the substrate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/447,029, filed on Jul. 30, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/727,671, filed on Dec. 27, 2012, whichclaims priority from Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2011-289320 and2012-243723, filed on Dec. 28, 2011 and Nov. 5, 2012, respectively, allof which are incorporated herein in their entireties by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and asubstrate processing method for processing a peripheral portion of asubstrate by using a processing liquid.

BACKGROUND

A series of processings for manufacturing of semiconductor devicesinclude a processing to remove an unnecessary film from a peripheralportion (a portion in the vicinity of outer periphery from which asemiconductor device product may not be obtained) of a semiconductorwafer (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “wafer”). As a method forremoving an unnecessary film, a wet etching method is commonly used, inwhich a chemical liquid is supplied to a peripheral portion in a statewhere a wafer is rotated in a horizontal posture. When an unnecessaryfilm is removed by a wet etching, an etching liquid of a relatively hightemperature (for example, SC-1 liquid of about 60° C.) is used in somecases. In that event, there is a problem in that if the wafer gets cold,the etching liquid is then cooled, which makes it difficult to obtain asufficient reaction rate. In order to solve this problem, JapanesePatent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-54932 discloses a configuration inwhich, when a wet etching is performed on a peripheral portion of awafer, hot gas is sprayed onto at least the peripheral portion of thewafer to increase the temperature of the peripheral portion.

When a periphery removal processing is performed on a wafer having aplurality of films laminated thereon, the wafer temperature for etchingeach film should be changed in some cases. For example, when an upperlayer is processed at a high temperature using a first etching liquid,then a lower layer should be processed at a low temperature using asecond etching liquid. In the apparatus as described in Japanese PatentApplication Laid-Open No. 2011-54932, it is difficult to rapidlydecrease the temperature of the wafer after increasing the temperature,and there is room for improvement in that point.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a substrate processing apparatusincluding a substrate holding unit configured to hold a substratehorizontally; a rotation driving unit configured to rotate the substrateholding unit; a first processing liquid nozzle configured to supply afirst processing liquid to a peripheral portion of the substrate held bythe substrate holding unit; a second processing liquid nozzle configuredto supply a second processing liquid, the temperature of which is lowerthan that of the first processing liquid, to the peripheral portion ofthe substrate held by the substrate holding unit; a first gas supplyport configured to supply a first gas at a first temperature to a firstgas supplied place on the peripheral portion of the substrate held bythe substrate holding unit; and a second gas supply port configured tosupply a second gas at a second temperature lower than the firsttemperature to a place closer to the center in the radial direction ascompared to the first gas supplied place with respect to the substrateheld by the substrate holding unit.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be inany way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments,and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and featureswill become apparent by reference to the drawings and the followingdetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating the entire configuration ofa substrate processing system including a peripheral film removingapparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment of the substrateprocessing apparatus of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view illustrating theconfiguration of the peripheral film removing apparatus according to thefirst exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a wafer for explanationof a processing performed by the peripheral film removing apparatus.

FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view of a wafer showing that in aperipheral portion, Al film has been etched and removed.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating another exemplary embodiment ofa cover plate, a first gas supply port and a second gas supply port.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating still another exemplaryembodiment of a cover plate, a first gas supply port and a second gassupply port.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating yet another exemplary embodimentof a cover plate, a first gas supply port and a second gas supply port,which illustrates a central upper portion of the cover plate.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating still yet another exemplaryembodiment of a cover plate, a first gas supply port and a second gassupply port, in which a central upper portion of the cover plate isillustrated.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating a peripheral filmremoving apparatus according to a second exemplary embodiment of thesubstrate processing apparatus of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9A is a view illustrating a modified embodiment of the first gassupply port of the peripheral film removing apparatus of the secondexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 9B is a view showing an embodiment of an ejection port formed in anejection plate.

FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating a peripheralfilm removing apparatus according to a third exemplary embodiment of thesubstrate processing apparatus of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. The illustrativeembodiments described in the detailed description, drawing, and claimsare not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, andother changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe subject matter presented here.

The present disclosure provides a technique capable of rapidlyincreasing the temperature of a substrate when processing a peripheralportion of the substrate with a processing liquid.

The present disclosure provides a substrate processing apparatusincluding: a substrate holding unit configured to hold a substratehorizontally; a rotation driving unit configured to rotate the substrateholding unit; a first processing liquid nozzle configured to supply afirst processing liquid to a peripheral portion of the substrate held bythe substrate holding unit; a second processing liquid nozzle configuredto supply a second processing liquid, the temperature of which is lowerthan that of the first processing liquid, to the peripheral portion ofthe substrate held by the substrate holding unit; a first gas supplyport configured to supply a first gas at a first temperature to a firstgas supplied place on the peripheral portion of the substrate held bythe substrate holding unit; and a second gas supply port configured tosupply a second gas at a second temperature lower than the firsttemperature to a place closer to the center in the radial direction ascompared to the first gas supplied place with respect to the substrateheld by the substrate holding unit.

The above-described substrate processing apparatus further includes: acover plate having a bottom surface opposite to an upper surface of thesubstrate held by the substrate holding unit, and configured to coverthe substrate from the upper side of the substrate, wherein the secondgas supply port is provided in the cover plate at a location opposite tothe central portion of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit.

In the above-described substrate processing apparatus, the first gassupply port is provided with a heater to heat the first gas in the coverplate. Further, the first gas supply port supplies the first gas from anopening formed in the cover plate to the substrate.

The above-described substrate processing apparatus further includes acover member configured to cover the peripheral portion of the uppersurface of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, and thesecond gas supply port supplies the second gas to a central portion ofthe substrate in a radially inner side as compared to the peripheralportion, and exposed without being covered by the cover member.

In the above-described substrate processing apparatus, the first gassupply port and the second gas supply port supply the first gas and thesecond gas from the lower side of the substrate held by the substrateholding unit to the bottom surface of the substrate.

In the above-described substrate processing apparatus, the second gassupply port has a switching unit configured to switch supplying andsupply-stopping of the second gas.

In the above-described substrate processing apparatus, the first gassupply port has a switching unit configured to switch supplying andsupply-stopping of the first gas, and the second gas supply port has aswitching unit configured to switch supplying and supply-stopping of thesecond gas.

In the above-described substrate processing apparatus, the second gassupply port is connected to a pressurized gas source, and the first gasejection port of the first gas supply port is provided along thecircumference of the cover member.

Further, the present disclosure provides a substrate processing methodusing a substrate processing apparatus including: a substrate holdingunit configured to hold a substrate horizontally; a rotation drivingunit configured to rotate the substrate holding unit; a first processingliquid nozzle configured to supply a first processing liquid to aperipheral portion of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit;a second processing liquid nozzle configured to supply a secondprocessing liquid, the temperature of which is lower than that of thefirst processing liquid, to the peripheral portion of the substrate heldby the substrate holding unit; a first gas supply port configured tosupply a first gas at a first temperature to a first gas supplied placeon the peripheral portion of the substrate held by the substrate holdingunit; and a second gas supply port configured to supply a second gas ata second temperature lower than the first temperature to a place closerto the center in the radial direction as compared to the first gassupplied place with respect to the substrate held by the substrateholding unit. The substrate processing method includes: rotating thesubstrate using the rotation driving unit while holding the substratehorizontally with the substrate holding unit; supplying the firstprocessing liquid to a peripheral portion of the rotating substrateusing the first processing liquid nozzle while supplying the first gasat the first temperature to the peripheral portion of the substrateusing the first gas supply port; and supplying the second processingliquid at the temperature lower than that of the first processing liquidto the peripheral portion of the rotating substrate using the secondprocessing liquid nozzle while supplying the second gas at the secondtemperature lower than the first temperature to a place closer to thecenter in the radial direction as compared to the supplying location ofthe first gas using the second gas supply port.

In the substrate processing method, the first gas is heated by a heaterprovided in a cover plate that covers the upper side of the substrate,and is supplied to the substrate, and switching supplying andsupply-stopping of the second gas is performed using a switching unitprovided in a second gas supply port.

In the above-described substrate processing method, the supplying of thefirst gas and the second gas is performed in a state where the upperside of the substrate is covered by a cover plate, the second gas issupplied from a pressurized gas source, and the pressure of the secondgas is higher than the pressure of the first gas.

In the above-described substrate processing method, switching ofsupplying and supply-stopping of the first gas is performed using aswitching unit provided in a first gas supply port, and the switching ofsupplying and supply-stopping of the second gas is performed using aswitching unit provided in a second gas supply port.

In the substrate processing method, the first gas is supplied from afirst gas ejection port provided in a cover member that covers theperipheral portion of the upper surface of the substrate, and the secondgas is supplied to a central portion of the substrate at an inner sidein the radial direction compared to the peripheral portion, the centralportion of the substrate being exposed without being covered by thecover member. Further, the first gas and the second gas are supplied tothe bottom of the substrate.

According to the present disclosure, by appropriately switchingsupplying of the first gas and the second gas of different temperatures,it is possible to rapidly increase or decrease the temperature of theperipheral portion of the substrate.

Hereinafter, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to drawings.

First, the first exemplary embodiment of the substrate processingapparatus according to the present disclosure will be described withrespect to a substrate processing system including a peripheral filmremoving apparatus 10 that is called a bevel wet etching apparatus. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the substrate processing system includes: placingstands 101 on which a carrier is placed which receives a substrate W tobe processed such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, also referredto as a “wafer W”) from the outside, a transportation arm 102 configuredto take out wafer W accommodated in the carrier, a rack unit 103configured to place wafer W taken out by transportation arm 102, and atransportation arm 104 configured to receive wafer W placed on rack unit103 and transport wafer W to the inside of peripheral film removing unit10. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the substrate processing system isprovided with a plurality (twelve in the drawing) of peripheral filmremoval apparatuses 10.

Next, the configuration of peripheral film removing apparatus 10 will bedescribed. As illustrated in FIG. 2, peripheral film removing apparatus10 includes a casing 12. In the ceiling of casing 12, a fan filter unit(FFU) 14 is provided to form a downflow of clean air in a spacesurrounded by casing 12. In a sidewall of casing 12 (a sidewall inrelation to the front side facing the paper in FIG. 2), an opening 15(see FIG. 1; not illustrated in FIG. 2) is formed to carry-in/out waferW to/from casing 12, and the opening is opened or closed by a shutter(not illustrated).

In casing 12, a substrate holding unit 16 is provided to hold wafer W ina horizontal posture. Substrate holding unit 16 is configured as aso-called vacuum chuck that holds wafer W by vacuum-adsorbing thecentral portion of the rear surface (bottom surface) of wafer W. In thelower side of substrate holding unit 16, there is provided a rotationdriving unit 18, specifically a rotary motor, configured to rotate waferW held on substrate holding unit 16 by rotationally driving substrateholding unit 16.

In the outer side in the radial direction of wafer W held by substrateholding unit 16, a generally cylindrical cup 20 is provided to surroundwafer W. Cup 20 receives a processing liquid scattered from wafer W bycentrifugal force, thereby suppressing the processing liquid from beingscattered to the outer side in the radial direction. An ejection port 22is provided in the bottom of cup 20, a discharge pipeline 24 isconnected to discharge port 22, and liquid and gas in cup 20 aredischarged through this discharge pipeline 24. A gas-liquid separator(mist separator) 26 is interposed in discharge pipeline 24 such that theliquid and gas discharged from cup 20 are separated from each other anddischarged to an exhaust unit EXH and a drain unit DR, respectively. Inaddition, a structure that separates liquid and gas is provided in theinside of cup 20, and a drain port configured to discharge liquid and anexhaust port configured to discharge gas may be provided separately inthe bottom of cup 20. Such a structure is well-known in the related art,and the detailed description is omitted. In any cases, the inner spaceof cup 20 is sucked under a negative pressure of exhaust port EXH duringthe operation of the peripheral film removing apparatus 10.

Cup 20 can be elevated by a cup elevation mechanism 28 as schematicallyillustrated in FIG. 2. When cup 20 is in an “ascent position” asillustrated in FIG. 2, wafer W is located in a lower side than an upperopen end of cup 20. Therefore, cup 20 surrounds the peripheral portionof wafer W. When cup 20 descends from the state in FIG. 2 to a “descentposition (not illustrated)”, wafer W is located above the upper open endof cup 20, and thus, wafer W can be transferred between a transportationarm 104 entering casing 12, and substrate holding unit 16, without beingdisturbed by cup 20. Instead of cup 20, substrate holding unit 16 may beconfigured to be elevatable. In this case, by allowing substrate holdingunit 16 to ascend from the location as illustrated in FIG. 2, wafer Wcan be transferred between transportation arm 104 and substrate holdingunit 16, without being disturbed by cup 20. In order to realize such afunction, substrate holding unit elevation mechanism (not illustrated)may be installed on rotation driving unit 18.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a cover plate 30 is provided to cover theentire upper surface of wafer W held by substrate holding unit 16. Coverplate 30 is provided to suppress a processing liquid from infiltratinginto a device forming region in the central portion of wafer W byforming air currents flowing towards the outer side of wafer in a gapbetween the peripheral portion of wafer W and cover plate 30. Further,cover plate 30 suppress mists of the processing liquid from beingscattered from wafer W, in particular, to the upper direction. Coverplate 30 may ascend or descend via an arm 34 by a cover plate elevationmechanism 32 including an air cylinder and the like. Cover plate 30 isin the descent position (a “processing position” that comes close to andcovers wafer W) as illustrated in FIG. 2 when processing the substrate.At this time, cover plate 30 blocks the upper open end of cup 20.Specifically, the peripheral portion of the bottom surface of coverplate 30 and the upper end of cup 20 in the ascent position come intocontact with each other or come close with a slight gap at a portion 36to suppress a processing liquid or mists thereof from leaking out fromportion 36. In order to make wafer W transferrable betweentransportation arm 104 and substrate holding unit 16, cover plate 30 isdisposed in the ascent position (a “retreat position” spaced away fromthe “processing position”). In addition to cover plate elevationmechanism 32, cover plate circling mechanism (not illustrated) may beprovided to move cover plate 30 in a horizontal direction between“processing position” and “retreat position”.

Cover plate 30 has a bottom surface 38 opposite to (facing) the uppersurface (front surface) of wafer W held by substrate holding unit 16.Bottom surface 38 includes a central region 38 a opposite to the centralportion of wafer W and a peripheral region 38 b opposite to theperipheral portion of wafer W. Cover plate 30 includes a lower centralmember 40 to provide central region 38 a of bottom surface 38 and anupper peripheral member 50 to provide peripheral region 38 b of bottomsurface 38. Lower central member 40 and upper peripheral member 50 areintegrally coupled, or integrally configured. However, the illustrationof the connecting portion of both members is omitted.

In a part of the peripheral portion of cover plate 30, particularly, ina part of the peripheral portion of upper peripheral member 50, acut-out portion 57 is provided to allow a nozzle, which supplies aprocessing liquid to the peripheral portion of wafer W, to enter a spaceof the upper side of the peripheral portion of wafer W. Cut-out portion57 is, for example, a concave portion of a rectangular shape formed onthe bottom surface of upper peripheral member 50.

Peripheral film removing apparatus 10 includes a first chemical liquidnozzle 61 configured to eject an SC-1 liquid as a first chemical liquid,a second chemical liquid nozzle 62 configured to eject a dilutehydrofluoric acid (DHF) liquid as a second chemical liquid, and a rinseliquid nozzle 63 configured to eject a deionized water (DIW) as a rinseliquid. Each ejection port of nozzles 61, 62 and 63 is formed so as toeject a liquid inclined downwardly towards the outer side of the waferin order to suppress a liquid spattering towards the device formingregion in the central portion of wafer W. First chemical liquid nozzle61 is associated with a first chemical liquid nozzle moving mechanism(not illustrated in detail) configured to allow a front end portion inthe vicinity of the ejection port of first chemical liquid nozzle 61 toenter into cut-out portion 57 or retreat from cut-out portion 57, afirst chemical liquid source (not illustrated in detail) configured tosupply a first chemical liquid to first chemical liquid nozzle 61, afirst chemical supplying pipeline (not illustrated in detail) connectedto first chemical liquid nozzle 61 and first chemical liquid source, anopening/closing valve and a flow rate control valve (not illustrated indetail) interposed in first chemical liquid supplying pipeline, and aheater (not illustrated in detail) configured to heat the first chemicalliquid. These members are schematically illustrated as a box denoted bya reference numeral 61A. Second chemical liquid nozzle 62 is associatedwith a second chemical liquid nozzle moving mechanism (not illustratedin detail) configured to allow a front end portion in the vicinity ofthe ejection port of second chemical liquid nozzle 62 to enter intocut-out portion 57 or retreat from cut-out portion 57, a second chemicalliquid source (not illustrated in detail) configured to supply a secondchemical liquid to second chemical liquid nozzle 62, a second chemicalsupplying pipeline (not illustrated in detail) connected to secondchemical liquid nozzle 62 and second chemical liquid source, and anopening/closing valve and a flow rate control valve (not illustrated indetail) interposed in second chemical liquid supplying pipeline. Thesemembers are schematically illustrated as a box denoted by a referencenumeral 62A. Rinse liquid nozzle 63 is associated with a rinse liquidnozzle moving mechanism (not illustrated in detail) configured to allowa front end portion in the vicinity of the ejection port of rinse liquidnozzle 62 to enter into cut-out portion 57 or retreat from cut-outportion 57, a rinse liquid source (not illustrated in detail) configuredto supply a rinse liquid to rinse liquid nozzle 62, a rinse supplyingpipeline (not illustrated in detail) connected to rinse liquid nozzle 62and rinse liquid source, and an opening/closing valve and a flow ratecontrol valve (not illustrated in detail) interposed in rinse liquidsupplying pipeline. These members are schematically illustrated as a boxdenoted by a reference numeral 63A. First chemical liquid nozzle 61,second chemical liquid nozzle 62 and rinse liquid nozzle 63 areillustrated as being disposed up and down for the convenience ofillustration. However, they are actually at the same height, anddisposed in the circumferential or tangential direction of wafer W.Further, cut-out portions 57 only for each of nozzles 61, 62 and 63 maybe provided at different locations in the circumferential direction ofcover plate 30.

Lower central member 40 is a generally disc-shaped member. At the centerof lower central member 40, an opening 41 is formed as an ejection portto eject N₂ (nitrogen) gas (second gas) at room temperature. A hollowgas through-flow pipe 42, which extends in an up-down direction, isconnected to the center of lower central member 40, and a gas path 42 aformed in the inside of gas through-flow pipe 42 is connected to opening41. A gas supplying pipe 43 is interposed in gas path 42 a, andconnected to a pressurized gas source 44, which is a source of apressurized N₂ gas at room temperature. In gas supplying pipe 43, anopening/closing valve 45 is interposed as a switching unit to switchsupplying and supply-stopping of N₂ gas. By opening opening/closingvalve 45, the pressurized N₂ gas at room temperature is flowed fromopening 41 into a space between the upper surface of wafer W and thebottom surface of lower central member 40, and the N₂ gas is flowedtowards the peripheral portion of wafer W as indicated by white arrowsin FIG. 2. Further, the gas (second gas) discharged from opening 41 isnot limited to N₂ gas, and any other gas that is clean and does notnegatively affect wafer W, for example clean air or inert gas may beused.

A heater (heating unit) 51 is embedded in upper peripheral member 50. Inthis exemplary embodiment, heater 51 includes a resistance heater, andreceives power from a power supply 52 to generate heat. The settemperature of heater 51 is, for example, 130° C. to 150° C.Accordingly, upper peripheral member 50 functions as a heating block. Agenerally disc-shaped gas through-flow space 53 is formed between lowercentral member 40 and upper peripheral member 50. A plurality of fins 54protrude from the bottom of upper peripheral member 50 facing gasthrough-flow space 53. Fins 54 are provided to facilitate heat exchangebetween gas in gas through-flow space 53 and upper peripheral member 50.Gas through-flow space 53 is provided with an inlet port 55 including anopen end opened on the top surface of upper peripheral member 50, thatis, the top surface of cover plate 30 in the outer side of gasthrough-flow pipe 42. Further, in FIG. 2, inlet port 55 is disposedslightly above the top surface of upper peripheral member 50, but may bedisposed at the same height as that of the top surface of upperperipheral member 50. However, since the atmosphere in casing 12 isrelatively clean at the upper portion close to FFU, it is preferred thatinlet port 55 is disposed at the upper side.

When cover plate 30 and cup 20 are in the positional relationship(contact or proximity) as illustrated in FIG. 2, and gas (second gas)pressurized from pressurized gas source 44 is not supplied, the innerspace of cup 20 is under a negative pressure because the inner space ofcup 20 is always sucked through ejection port 22. Due to this, theatmosphere in the space upper than cover plate 30, particularly, theclean air supplied from fan filter unit 14 is introduced via inlet port55 into gas through-flow space 53. The introduced clean air (first gas)flows through gas through-flow space 53 towards the outer sideapproximately in the radial direction as illustrated by black arrows inFIG. 2, and is ejected from an outlet port 56 at the outer side of acentral region 38 a of bottom surface 38 towards the peripheral portionof wafer W which is a part to be processed. Moreover, the introducedclean air is ejected to the outer side of wafer W. The air currentejected to the outer side of wafer W ensures that a processing liquid issuppressed from infiltrating into a device forming region in the centralportion of wafer W by a synergy with the air current ejected to theouter side of wafer W, which is generated between the peripheralportions of cover plate 30 and wafer W by the rotation of wafer W asdescribed above. Further, outlet port 56 may be a single opening thatextends continuously in the circumferential direction, or may be aplurality of openings that are disposed intermittently on thecircumference. While the gas (the clean air in casing 12 in the presentexemplary embodiment) is flowing along with gas through-flow space 53,the temperature is increased (for example, to about 100° C.) by heatexchange with the bottom surface of upper peripheral member 50 and fins54 heated by heater 51. Thereafter, the gas is ejected from outlet port56 towards the peripheral portion of wafer W, thereby heating wafer W(for example, about 60° C.). Since outlet port 56 is formed such thatthe heated gas (first gas) is introduced slantingly downwardly towardsthe outer side of wafer W with respect to the peripheral portion ofwafer W, it is possible to more securely suppress a processing liquidfrom infiltrating into a device forming region in the central portion ofwafer W. Further, since the heated gas is not in parallel to the uppersurface of wafer W, but is introduced at an angle with the upper surfaceof wafer W, the heating efficiency of the peripheral portion of wafer Wis enhanced.

In the case where cover plate 30 and cup 20 are in the positionalrelationship as illustrated in FIG. 2, and gas (second gas) pressurizedfrom pressurized gas source 44 is supplied, a large amount of gas atroom temperature flows between the upper surface of wafer W and bottomsurface 38 of cover plate 30 towards the outer side (see the whitearrows in FIG. 2). Accordingly, after the temperature of the peripheralportion of wafer is increased, the whole wafer as well as the peripheralportion of the wafer is cooled to a temperature suitable for processingwith the second chemical liquid supplied at room temperature. At thistime, even in the case where the discharge of the heated gas (first gas)from outlet port 56 as illustrated by black arrows in FIG. 2 disappearsor decreases greatly under the influence of the pressurized gas (secondgas) at room temperature flowing in the vicinity of the peripheralportion of wafer W as illustrated by white arrows in FIG. 2, andfurthermore, even if the heated gas is slightly discharged, theperipheral portion of wafer is hardly affected by the heated gas becausethe flow of the pressurized gas at room temperature covers theperipheral portion of wafer W. The temperature of the peripheral portionof wafer W is changed only by the influence of the pressurized gas atroom temperature. That is, if the peripheral portion of wafer W wasalready heated, the temperature of the peripheral portion of wafer Wdecreases. Therefore, the switching of heating and cooling of theperipheral portion of wafer W can be performed only by switchingsupplying and supply-stopping of the pressurized gas from pressurizedgas source 44 by opening/closing valve 45. Further, since the gas atroom temperature from pressurized gas source 44 is sprayed from opening41 onto the central portion of wafer W, it is possible to suppress thetemperature rise of the portion of wafer W held by a chuck. As a result,it is possible to suppress the failure of the chuck by heat stress ofthat portion.

As schematically illustrated in FIG. 2, peripheral film removingapparatus 10 includes a controller (control unit) 200 that integrallycontrols the entire operations thereof. Controller 200 controlsoperations of all functional parts (for example, substrate holding unit16, rotation driving unit 18, cup elevation mechanism 28, cover plateelevation mechanism 32, opening/closing valve 45, power supply 52,driving mechanisms of each of nozzles 61, 62 and 63, opening/closingvalve, flow rate control valve and the like). Controller 200 may beimplemented using, for example, a general purpose computer as a hardwareand a program (an apparatus control program and a processing recipe) tooperate the computer with a software. The software may be stored in astorage medium such as, for example, a hard disc drive which is fixedlyprovided in the computer, or in a storage medium such as, for example, aCD-ROM, a DVD, and a flash memory which are removably set in thecomputer. The storage media are indicated by a reference numeral 201 inFIG. 2. A processor 202 calls and executes a predetermined processingrecipe from storage medium 201 based on, for example, instructions froma user interface (not illustrated) as needed. As a result, eachfunctional component of liquid processing apparatus 10 is operated toperform a predetermined processing under the control of controller 200.Controller 200 may be a system controller controlling the wholesubstrate processing system as illustrated in FIG. 1.

Next, description will be made with respect to an example of a series ofprocessings performed using peripheral film removing apparatus 10 asdescribed above. A series of cleaning processing steps as describedbelow are performed in such a manner that controller 200 controls eachof functional parts of peripheral film removing apparatus 10.Hereinafter, description will be made with respect to a series ofprocessings including completely removing an Al film of a peripheralportion from a laminated structure in which SiO₂ film (silicon oxidefilm) is formed on silicon wafer W and an Al film is formed thereon, asschematically illustrated in FIG. 3, and then, removing the outermostsurface of the SiO₂ film contaminated with Al (in which Al is diffused).

[Carry-In of Wafer]

First, wafer W is carried-in to peripheral removing apparatus 10. Beforecarrying-in, cup 20 descends to a descent position, and cover plate 30ascends to a retreat position. In this state, transportation arm 104,which holds wafer W, enters the inside of casing 12 through opening 15(illustrated only in FIG. 1) and then places wafer W on substrateholding unit 16. After substrate holding unit 16, which is formed as avacuum chuck, adsorbs wafer W, transportation arm 104 retreats from theinside of casing 12. Since heater 51 receives the power from powersupply 52 before wafer W is carried-in, heater 51 is already heated toabout 150° C., and the surface facing the gas through-flow space ofupper peripheral member 50 is at a high temperature. Then, asillustrated in FIG. 2, cup 20 ascends to the ascent position, and coverplate 30 descends to the processing position. The positions of cup 20and cover plate 30 are held until the wafer starts to be carried-out.Since the inner space of cup 20 is always sucked through discharge port22 as described above, the air introduced from inlet port 55 flows ingas through-flow space 53 as illustrated by black arrows in FIG. 2 whilebeing heated by upper peripheral member 50. The air (first gas) heatedto about 100° C. is discharged from outlet port 56, and collides withthe peripheral portion of wafer W to heat the peripheral portion ofwafer W. At that time, N₂ gas at room temperature pressurized frompressurized gas source 44 is not supplied.

[SC-1 Processing]

Next, wafer W is rotated by rotation driving unit 18. Then, the portionin the vicinity of the ejection port of first chemical liquid nozzle 61is allowed to enter into cut-out portion 57 formed on the bottom surfaceof upper peripheral member 50 to eject SC-1 liquid heated to about 60°C. (a processing liquid at a relatively high temperature) to theperipheral portion of wafer W (see the arrow of SC-1 in FIG. 3A).Accordingly, the Al film in the peripheral portion is etched and removed(see FIG. 3B). At that time, since the peripheral portion of wafer W isheated by hot air, the etching reaction is facilitated. Further, SC-1liquid is suppressed from infiltrating into the central portion of waferW by the air flow towards the outer side of wafer W. At that time, N₂gas at room temperature pressurized from pressurized gas source 44 isnot supplied.

[DIW Rinse Processing (First Time)]

Next, first chemical liquid nozzle 61 is allowed to retreat from cut-outportion 57, and rinse liquid nozzle 63 is allowed to enter into cut-outportion 57. Further, N₂ gas (second gas) at room temperature pressurizedfrom pressurized gas source 44 is supplied to form an air current asillustrated by the white arrows in FIG. 2 in the space between wafer Wand cover plate 30. As a result, since the heated air current asillustrated by the black arrows in FIG. 2 disappears or decreases to anegligible extent as described above, the peripheral portion of wafer Wis cooled. In addition to the peripheral portion of wafer W, theentirety of wafer W is cooled as well. Subsequently, DIW at roomtemperature is ejected from rinse liquid nozzle 63 to the peripheralportion of the wafer in a state where wafer W is rotated. Accordingly,the etching residue from the SC-1 processing and the remaining SC-1liquid are removed from the peripheral portion of wafer W. Further, theperipheral portion of wafer W is cooled by DIW at room temperaturesupplied from rinse liquid nozzle 63. Further, at this moment, theprocessing liquid (DIW) is suppressed from infiltrating into the centralportion of wafer W by the flow of N₂ gas (see the white arrows in FIG.2) directed towards the outer side of wafer W (the same as in thefollowing DHF processing and DIW rinse processing).

[DHF Processing]

Next, rinse liquid nozzle 63 is allowed to retreat from cut-out portion57, and second chemical liquid nozzle 62 is allowed to enter cut-outportion 57. Subsequently, DHF at room temperature (a processing liquidat a relatively low temperature) is ejected from second chemical liquidnozzle 62 to the peripheral portion of wafer W in a state where wafer Wis rotated while N₂ gas at room temperature pressurized from pressurizedgas source 44 is being supplied. As a result, the outermost surfacelayer of the SiO2 film contaminated with Al (the part represented by thethick solid line in FIG. 3B) is removed. Further, if the DHF processingis performed in a state where wafer W is at a high temperature, there isa possibility to cause a problem such as, for example, overetching.However, in the present exemplary embodiment, the DHF processing isperformed in a state where N₂ gas at room temperature is sprayed to theperipheral portion of wafer W, and thus, there is no concern to causesuch a problem. Further, since an action for reducing the temperature ofwafer W has also been taken in the previous DIW rinse processing, theabove-mentioned problem can be more securely suppressed.

[DIW Rinse Processing (Second Time)]

Next, second chemical liquid nozzle 62 is allowed to retreat fromcut-out portion 57, and rinse liquid nozzle 63 is allowed to entercut-out portion 57. Subsequently, DIW at room temperature is ejectedfrom rinse liquid nozzle 63 to the peripheral portion of wafer W in astate where wafer W is rotated while N₂ gas at room temperaturepressurized from pressurized gas source 44 is being supplied.Accordingly, the etching residue from the DHF processing and theremaining DHF liquid are removed from the peripheral portion of wafer W.

[Spin Drying]

Next, rinse liquid nozzle 63 is allowed to retreat from cut-out portion57. Subsequently, the pressurized N₂ gas at room temperature is suppliedfrom pressurized gas source 44, and the rotation speed of wafer W isincreased. As a result, the peripheral portion of wafer W is spin dried.At this time, drying is facilitated by the flow of N₂ gas at roomtemperature as illustrated by the white arrows in FIG. 2. In order tofurther enhance the drying efficiency, the first gas (heated gas) may beejected from outlet port 56 to the peripheral portion of wafer W bystopping supplying the pressurized N₂ gas at room temperature frompressurized gas source 44.

[Carry-Out of Wafer]

When spin drying is terminated, the rotation of wafer W is then stopped,and supplying the pressurized N₂ gas from pressurized gas source 44 isstopped. Subsequently, as cup 20 descends to the descent position, coverplate 30 ascends to the retreat position. Transportation arm 104 enterscasing 12 through opening 15 (illustrated only in FIG. 1) to removewafer W from substrate holding unit 16, and then retreats from casing12. Therefore, a series of processings for the wafer are terminated.

According to the above exemplary embodiment, the following advantageouseffects may be obtained.

According to the above exemplary embodiment, since the heated gas (thefirst gas) and the gas at room temperature (the second gas at atemperature lower than that of the first gas) are allowed to flow to theperipheral portion of wafer (substrate) W, the temperature of wafer Wcan be rapidly increased or decreased. Therefore, it is possible torapidly control the temperature of the peripheral portion of wafer W toan optimal temperature depending on processing.

Further, in the above exemplary embodiment, since a unit (first gassupply port) configured to supply a gas at a high temperature (firstgas) forms a gas flow using a negative pressure in cup 20, a pressurizedgas source only for forming a gas flow or a power supply is notrequired. And, a unit (second gas supply port) configured to supply agas at a low temperature (second gas) uses pressurized gas source 44exclusively. In addition, as described above, supplying the pressurizedgas by pressurized gas source 44 realizes a state equivalent to stoppingsupplying a gas at a relatively high temperature to wafer W by the firstgas supply port. Briefly, the flow of the first gas at a highertemperature is controlled by controlling the flow of the second gas at alower temperature. Therefore, any electrical or mechanical units are notrequired to control (particularly, ON/OFF) the flow of the first gas.Accordingly, the apparatus can be constructed at a low price.

The above exemplary embodiment can be modified as follows.

For example, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 4, an opening/closingvalve 70 may be provided as a switching unit configured to switchsupplying and supply-stopping of the first gas, on a path for supplyingthe first gas (gas at a high temperature). According to thisconfiguration, when supplying the second gas at a low temperature, thefirst gas at a high temperature is completely suppressed from beingintroduced into a space in the vicinity of the peripheral portion ofwafer W. Therefore, the temperature of wafer W decreases more rapidly.This configuration is particularly advantageous when the temperaturedifference between the first processing liquid (first chemical liquid)and the second processing liquid (second chemical liquid) is large (forexample, when the temperature of the first processing temperature is100° C. or higher and the temperature of the second processing liquid isroom temperature). In this case, the configuration of other parts ofperipheral film removing apparatus 10 may adopt the configuration of theexemplary embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 2. Instead ofopening/closing valve 70, an opening/closing mechanism configured toopen or close inlet port 55 may be provided.

In addition, by further modifying the modified exemplary embodiment asillustrated in FIG. 4, instead of heater 50 provided in cover plate 30,a heater 51′ may be provided in the outside of cover plate 30 asillustrated in FIG. 5. In this case, since a space for heat exchange isnot necessarily provided in cover plate 30, the configuration of coverplate 30 is simplified. Further, in this case, it is preferred that, tothe peripheral portion of cover plate 30 is connected a pipeline 71 tosupply the first gas (high temperature gas) in which heater 51′ isinterposed so as not to thermally affect the second gas (low temperaturegas). Further, in this case, as illustrated in FIG. 5, it is preferredthat branch pipelines 71 a branched from pipeline 71 are provided to bespaced from each other in the circumferential direction of cover plate30. Of course, like outlet port 56 as illustrated in FIG. 2, outletports 56′ in communication with each of branch pipelines 71 a are formedto be inclined downwardly towards the outer side of wafer W.

Further, for example, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 6, the secondgas may be set to be originated from clean air supplied from fan filterunit 14 by removing pressurized gas source 44 from a unit configured tosupply the second gas (low temperature gas). This configuration isadvantageous when the temperature difference between the firstprocessing liquid (first chemical liquid) and the second processingliquid (second chemical liquid) is small (for example, when thetemperature of the first processing temperature is about 40° C. and thetemperature of the second processing liquid is room temperature) fromthe viewpoint of reducing equipment cost. This is because a strongcooling power is not required in such a case. In this case, however,since a function that substantially blocks the ejection of the first gasis lost, which is obtained by supplying the pressurized second gas inthe exemplary embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 2, a function ispreferably provided that allows the first gas at a high temperature andthe second gas at a low temperature to alternatively flow. Accordingly,as illustrated in FIG. 6, a switching mechanism 72 is provided, whichalternatively switches the inflow of clean air to gas through-flow pipe42 and gas through-flow space 53. Switching mechanism 72 may beconfigured with, for example, a three-way conversion valve asillustrated in FIG. 6. In this case, the clean air sucked from a singleinlet port 73 passes through switching mechanism 72, and is suppliedalternatively to any one of gas through-flow pipe 42 and gasthrough-flow space 53. Switching mechanism 72 is a unit configured toswitch supplying and supply-stopping of the first gas, as well as a unitconfigured to switch supplying and supply-stopping of the second gas.Switching mechanism 72 may be configured with opening/closing valvesprovided on pipelines communicating with gas through-flow pipe 42 andgas through-flow space 53, respectively. Further, in a case where waferW is not required to be heated to a high temperature, the second gas ata low temperature may be allowed to continuously flow. Therefore, anopening/closing mechanism 74 may be provided, which switches only inflowand non-inflow of clean air to gas through-flow space 53, as illustratedin FIG. 7. Further, the modified embodiments of FIGS. 6 and 7 may beconstructed on the basis of the exemplary embodiment as illustrated inFIG. 2, by cutting gas through-flow pipe 42 at the height of inlet port55, and then providing a switching unit such as, for example, switchingmechanism 72 or opening/closing mechanism 74 therein. In this case, theconfiguration of other parts of peripheral film removing apparatus 10may also adopt the configuration of the exemplary embodiment asillustrated in FIG. 2.

In the above exemplary embodiment, SC-1 is exemplified as a chemicalliquid for use at a (relatively) high temperature), and DHF isexemplified as a chemical liquid for use at a (relatively) lowtemperature (for example, room temperature), but they are not limitedthereto. The chemical liquid for use at a high temperature may be SC-2,and the chemical liquid for use at a low temperature may be a bufferedhydrofluoric acid (BHF), ammonium hydroxide (NH₄OH) or a mixturethereof.

Next, the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 8. In the second exemplary embodiment,instead of cover plate 30 that covers the entire surface of the uppersurface of wafer W used in the first exemplary embodiment, a ring shapedcover member 300 is provided, which covers the peripheral portion of theupper surface of wafer W, and does not cover the central portion of theinner side of the upper surface of the wafer to be exposed. A bottomsurface 302 of cover member 300 is opposite to the peripheral portion ofthe upper surface of wafer W held by wafer holding unit 16. In bottomsurface 302 of cover member 300, there is formed a first gas ejectionport 304 for supplying a heated clean air (preferably, N₂ gas), that is,the first gas to the peripheral portion of wafer W. First gas ejectionport 304 may be a single opening that extends continuously in thecircumferential direction of cover member 300, or may be a plurality ofopenings that are disposed intermittently on the circumference. Adiffusion chamber 306 that extends in the circumferential direction isformed in the inside of cover member 300. A clean air (CA) or N₂ gassource 308 is connected via gas supplying pipe 310 to diffusion chamber306. The pressurized clean air (CA) or N₂ gas is supplied from source308. An opening/closing valve 312 and a heater 314 for heating the gasflowing in gas supplying pipe 310 are interposed in gas supplying pipe310.

In an opening 301 in the central portion of cover member 300, there isprovided a second gas nozzle 316 configured to supply N₂ gas, i.e. thesecond gas, at room temperature towards the central portion of wafer W.Second gas nozzle 316 is connected via an arm 318 to a nozzle movingmechanism 320. By nozzle moving mechanism 320, second gas nozzle 316 maydescend to a location in the vicinity of the surface of wafer W whenejecting gas, and retreat to a location spaced away from the surface ofwafer W (for example, a location above cover member 300, or above andradially outside of cover member 300) when not ejecting the gas.Further, second gas nozzle 316 may be fixed via an arm to cover member300 so as to be always located in a predetermined position (for example,a position as illustrated in FIG. 8) in opening 301 in the centralportion of cover member 300.

Besides the matters as described above, the configuration of the secondexemplary embodiment is the same as the configuration of the firstexemplary embodiment. In FIG. 8 which illustrates the second exemplaryembodiment, the same members as those of the first exemplary embodimentare indicated by the same reference numerals, and the redundantdescription will be omitted.

When processing wafer W with a heated chemical liquid (for example, inthe SC-1 processing), the supply of the second gas at room temperaturefrom second gas nozzle 316 is not performed, and the heated first gasfrom first gas ejection port 304 of cover member 300 is ejected to theperipheral portion of wafer W (see the black arrows) to heat theperipheral portion of wafer W. At this moment, a downflow from fanfilter unit 14 is introduced via opening 301 in the central portion ofcover member 300 through the gap between the upper peripheral portion ofwafer W and bottom surface 302 of cover member 300 into cup 20 by anegative pressure in cup 20. If the amount of the heated gas from firstgas ejection port 304 is large, the amount of the clean air at roomtemperature blown from fan filter unit 14 into cup 20 becomes small.

When cooling wafer W from the state (for example, in the DIW processingas described above), the ejection of the heated gas from first gasejection port 304 is stopped, and the supply of the second gas at roomtemperature from the ejection port of second gas nozzle 316 isperformed, thereby facilitating cooling wafer W. Further, whenprocessing wafer with a chemical liquid at room temperature aftercooling wafer W is terminated (for example, in the DHF processing asdescribed above), the ejection of the heated gas from first gas ejectionport 304 may be stopped, and the supply of the second gas at roomtemperature from the ejection port of second gas nozzle 316 may beperformed. The second gas ejected from second gas nozzle 316 towards thecenter of wafer W flows towards the periphery of wafer W and takes heatfrom wafer W, as illustrated by the white arrows.

Likewise, in the second exemplary embodiment, since the heated gas(first gas) and the gas at room temperature (second gas at a lowertemperature than that of the first gas) are allowed to flow to theperipheral portion of wafer (substrate) W, the temperature of wafer Wcan be rapidly increased or decreased, which has the same advantageouseffect as in the first exemplary embodiment that it is possible torapidly control the temperature of the peripheral portion of wafer W toan optimal temperature depending on processing.

In the second exemplary embodiment, instead of second gas nozzle 316having a single ejection port, it is possible to use a gas nozzle havinga plurality of outlet ports (ejection ports) as illustrated in FIG. 9.Gas nozzle 330 has a diffusion chamber 332 receiving the gas suppliedfrom gas source 44 as illustrated in FIG. 9A. The bottom wall ofdiffusion chamber 332 is formed as an ejection plate 334 having aplurality of ejection port 336. Ejection port 336 is disposed in, forexample, a lattice (grid) shape as illustrated in FIG. 9B. Accordingly,by disposing ejection plate 334 having a relatively large area abovewafer to supply N₂ gas to wafer W, it is possible to reduce the amountof the clean air in a high oxygen concentration (flowed down from fanfilter unit 14) that reaches the surface of wafer W. Therefore, the lowhumidity and low oxygen concentration required processing (for example,the spin drying processing as described above) can be performedefficiently.

Next, the third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 10. The third exemplary embodiment isdifferent from the second exemplary embodiment in that the heating andcooling of wafer W are performed by supplying a gas to the bottomsurface of wafer W instead of by supplying a gas to the upper surface ofwafer W in the second exemplary embodiment. In the third exemplaryembodiment, there is provided a configuration in which a gas is suppliesto the bottom surface of wafer W in the inner side of cup 20 (a portionlocated in the lower side of wafer W). In the inner side of cup 20,there are formed an outer side first gas ejection port 341 configured toeject the heated first gas (clean air or N₂ gas) to the peripheralportion of the bottom surface of wafer W held by substrate holding unit16, and an inner side first gas ejection port 342 disposed in the innerside in the radial direction of outer side first gas ejection port 341.Outer and inner first gas ejection ports 341 and 342 may be a singleopening that extends continuously in the circumferential direction ofcup 20, or may be a plurality of openings that are disposedintermittently on the circumference.

When heating the peripheral portion of the wafer, the pressurized cleanair or N₂ gas at room temperature is supplied from a gas source 348through a pipeline 350, in which an opening/closing valve 352 isinterposed, into a gas diffusion space (gas diffusion chamber) 344provided in the inside of cup 20. A heater 346 is provided in thevicinity of gas diffusion space 344. The gas supplied to gas diffusionspace 344 is diffused circumferentially in gas diffusion space 344 whileheating, and is ejected as a heated first gas from outer and inner firstgas ejection ports 341 and 342 towards the peripheral portion in thebottom surface of wafer W to heat the peripheral portion of wafer W.Like heater 346, a heater (not illustrated) may be provided in alocation in the vicinity of diffusion chamber 306 in cover member 300 toheat the gas in diffusion chamber 306.

In a further radially inner side of first gas ejection port 342, thereis formed a second gas ejection port 360 configured to eject N₂ gas atroom temperature, i.e. a second gas to the central portion of the bottomsurface of wafer W. Second gas ejection port 360 may be a single openingthat extends continuously in the circumferential direction of cup 20, ormay be a plurality of openings that are disposed intermittently on thecircumference.

When cooling wafer W (or when processing wafer W at room temperature),N₂ gas, which is a pressurized clean air at room temperature, issupplied from a gas source 364 through a pipeline 366, in which anopening/closing valve 368 is interposed, into a gas diffusion space (gasdiffusion chamber) 362 provided in the inside of cup 20. The N₂ gas isdiffused circumferentially in gas diffusion space 362 and ejected fromgas ejection port 360 (see the white arrows). The second gas at roomtemperature flows towards the peripheral portion of wafer W, and at thistime, takes heat from wafer W. Second gas ejection port 360 may beprovided between outer side first ejection port 341 and inner first gasejection port 342.

Besides those as described above, the configuration of the thirdexemplary embodiment is the same as the configuration of the first andsecond exemplary embodiments. In FIG. 10 which illustrates the thirdexemplary embodiment, the same members as those of the first and secondexemplary embodiments are indicated by the same reference numerals, andthe redundant description is omitted. Likewise, in the third exemplaryembodiment, the temperature of wafer W can be rapidly increased ordecreased, thereby having the same advantageous effect as in the firstand second exemplary embodiments that it is possible to rapidly controlthe temperature of the peripheral portion of wafer W to an optimaltemperature depending on processing.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments ofthe present disclosure have been described herein for purposes ofillustration, and that various modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intendedto be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: asubstrate holder configured to hold a substrate horizontally; a rotationdriver configured to rotate the substrate holder; a first processingliquid nozzle configured to supply a first processing liquid to aperipheral portion of the substrate held by the substrate holder; and afirst gas supply configured to supply a first gas at a first temperatureto the peripheral portion of the substrate held by the substrate holder,wherein the first gas supply includes an outer side first gas ejectionport, an inner side first gas ejection port, and a heater, and the firstgas supply is disposed below the substrate held by the substrate holder,and the inner side first gas ejection port is formed in the inner sidein the radial direction of the outer side first gas ejection port. 2.The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the outer sidefirst gas ejection port and the inner side first gas ejection port are aplurality of openings that are disposed in the circumferentialdirection.
 3. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein theouter side first gas ejection port and the inner side first gas ejectionport are connected to a first gas diffusion space, and the heater isprovided in the vicinity of the first gas diffusion space and suppliesthe first gas to the substrate from the below the substrate.
 4. Thesubstrate processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the gas supplied tothe first gas diffusion space from the gas supply is diffusedcircumferentially in the gas diffusion space while heating, and isejected as a heated first gas from the outer side first gas ejectionport and the inner side first gas ejection port towards the bottom ofthe substrate.
 5. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 4, whereinthe outer side first gas ejection port and the inner side first gasejection port are a plurality of openings that are disposedintermittently on the circumference.
 6. The substrate processingapparatus of claim 5, wherein the first processing liquid nozzlesupplies the first processing liquid from the above the substrate.